First look at new North Tyneside skills centre

This is how a new £2.6m construction skills centre in North Tyneside is going to look when it is built.

Tyne Coast College is set to start work this month on the state-of-the-art facility which is expected to open for the new term in September.

A CGI of the new Tyne Coast College building.

The building will be home to classrooms and demonstration areas to train the next generation of construction workers in bricklaying, plastering, painting and decorating, plumbing, joinery, and electrical engineering, including solar installation.

She said: “Demand on the construction sector here is growing, but that is running hand in hand with a recognised gap in skills. This skills gap must be reduced or eradicated, and that is exactly what this new and important training centre aims to do.

“Its development shows how seriously Tyne Coast College takes training and reflects our awareness of where and how it must be enhanced. From this facility we will deliver the most up to date industry standard training in this region, all part of our long-term package of high-quality skills provision.

“This investment is a tremendous boost to the North East’s construction industry, now and in the future.”

The centre will run both full and part time training courses for young people and adults.

Santander is funding the building which comes after the merger of South Tyneside College and TyneMet last August.

Councillors gave plans to build the brand new skills centre within the grounds of the current college site the thumbs up last month.

North Tyneside Council committee chairman, councillor Frank Lott, said the development was a welcome boost for the area.

He said: “If this allows the college to compete it should be welcomed in the area.”

The committee voted unanimously to approve the plans in the hope of plugging the region’s skills gaps.